01SITUATION

The advancements in technology have rapidly changed the face of many industries over the past decade. At the beginning of these changes, although the staffing industry benefited internally, the external candidate and client facing aspect has changed dramatically in recent years, as entrepreneurs continue to disrupt the market. How individuals apply for jobs and how recruiters source talent has completely changed due to these improvements and companies are now making use of multiple softwares to locate and attract top talent.

SThree approached Applify with a vision to not only join the new wave of talent platforms, but with a view to developing a roadmap which would allow them to dominate the staffing landscape. They envisioned a platform which would remove the complexities of external communications, attracting new talent and matching the best possible candidate to the right company.

02CHALLENGE

As a 30 year old organisation, this is a new area of innovation for SThree and in order to disrupt the market effectively, they wanted to think and operate as a startup. As an agency with a wealth of startup experience, we pride ourselves on helping blue chip organisations deliver on disruptive thinking and products, so this was a challenge we were eager to rise to.

With a number of new talent platforms gradually gaining traction within the staffing industry, SThree needed a strategy that would not just put them at par with the other platforms gaining traction, but one that would allow them to surpass their current and potential competitors. The strategy for the final product required making the platform scalable, designed in a way for future modules to be added with ease, so that the product is future proof and the client receives a long term return on investment.

03SOLUTION

To deliver the most effective digital strategy, we constituted three teams. We had a consultant from the first team go through an ideation stage with the newly formed incubator at the company, whilst the rest of the first team ran a simultaneous discovery phase.

THE DISCOVERY PROCESS RAN BY THE FIRST TEAM

Examining where the project fits into SThree’s broader strategy

Reviewing the proposed budget and timescales

Reviewing market data and industry trends

Competitors audit

The second team focused on the core UX and UI principles

Clarity

Flexibility

Efficiency

Familiarity

The third team handled the Research & Development aspect of the digital strategy, tasked with in-depth research and prototype development, to come up with a product and service that meet the needs of tomorrow's clients.

04CANDIDATES

For candidates we focused on a sleek mobile first design and strategy, with a view of delivering an elevated user experience. We did this by identifying the main potholes candidates face when going through the application and interview process, further devising solutions, and then designing them for a mobile audience. Some of these key factors were:

TRANSPARENCY - Where am I in the application process? Has my CV been viewed? Am I through to the next stage? Why haven’t I had a response from my recruiter? Have I been provided with or been able to find enough information on this company and are they the right fit for me?

TIME - Do I need to take time out of work to go and meet my recruiter? Can I speed up the process without travelling? Can I interview from my location?

05RECRUITERS

For recruiters, we designed a web platform and admin portal, accompanied by a mobile application, to make it easier and more efficient to not only post jobs, but to interact with candidates and clients as well. The main areas of focus when planning this were:

Managing applications

Client and candidate communication

Application management

06Result

After completing the process, we were able to provide with a document that contained a detailed roadmap, complete mobile strategy and potential product design as the foundation of final briefs, for development and delivery of the project.

THE DOCUMENT INCLUDED

A statement of the goals for the project and how they serve the business objectives.

A description of the current and projected commercials for the staffing industry.

A list of actions and behaviours recruiters and candidates would engage in.

An audit and comparison of existing competing talent platforms.

An initial estimate of the time and resources that will be required to deliver the project.